Tag: parenting

Woah hey! This is my first cloth diaper review. As much as I’ve talked about cloth diapers over on Instagram, I recently realized that I’ve never written a cloth diaper review!

Over the summer, Ah Dee Eh Dee sent me a really cute all-in-one (AIO) diaper to try out with Minerva. I got it prepped right away and this diaper is now a staple in our diaper arsenal. The diaper has stay-dry Alova Suedecloth and the layers are 40% hemp, 30% bamboo, and 30% organic cotton. The diaper fits kids approximately 15-48 pounds. I did let Maxine wear it a couple times to see if it fit her (38ish lbs) and it does fit her!

We tried out the diaper for daytime use first. The diaper had no leaks and held in the destruction that Min decided to do to the diaper (hahaha!) I was shocked that it didn’t come out the diaper because it was a ton of crap. Color me impressed!!

The next time that we used the diaper, it was overnight. Minerva nursed the entire night it seemed and she peed a ton so there was a little leakage and her jammies were damp. The next time we used it overnight, I added a bamboo insert under the layers in the diaper and she did the nurse all night thing again (ugh) and woke up with no leaks! Her jammies weren’t damp at all.

This diaper has rises on the front to fit many different sized kids. It even was forgiving with Min’s constant pulling the front of her diaper down. She does that with everything! I look forward to adding more Ah Dee Eh Dee to my collection.

On the left is the first time I wore Maxine (2ish weeks old.) On the right is the first time I wore Minerva (5 hours old.)

The single most important part of my parenting journey is babywearing. Period. I mean of course there are other important things like feeding the baby, taking your vitamins (like these Honest vitamins,) and making sure you get to eat, but babywearing is one part of my parenting journey I can’t sing the praises of enough.

Thanks to babywearing, I’ve felt more confident in my parenting journey. I know that my children feel safe with me. I know that I can comfort them at a moment’s notice. I know that my relationship with them is getting stronger everyday. When the world is too overwhelming, I know that I can comfort them while they comfort me.

What is the most important part of your parenting journey?

This moment in motherhood inspired by the Honest Company‘s honest moments video series.

Lately, I have not felt like myself at all. I’m very irritable. I’m exhausted. I’m mean. I’m physically ill. I’m in even more pain than I could have ever imagined. I know that this has everything to do with me being pregnant. I’m in my 9th and final month right now. I have THIRTY DAYS left until my due date. This excites me and scares me tremendously. We have everything we need to welcome Maxine to the world now…I think. I’m sure I won’t know for sure until she gets here. I’m already one centimeter dilated and thinning out. I really hope that she doesn’t wait until October 12th to come. I want her to come after September 21st though. I’ve already been having contractions. Since they are not regular, there is no point in going back to labor and delivery because they will just send me home. I’m crying a lot due to how miserable I am all the time. Those huge kicks assure me that all of this misery is for an incredible reason.

The eviction notice has been served!

There is one thing that has driven me completely BONKERS this pregnancy, especially since I’ve been showing big time. THE ADVICE. Oh goodness. I know that not everyone realizes that I have been working with children for a decade of my like. I know that everyone thinks their advice and tips are the best. I know that everyone is an expert on children. Seriously though, unless I ASK you for advice or for your labor story (which I do ask sometimes!!) I DON’T WANT THE INPUT. I know that kids poop, spit, vomit, scratch, cry, eat, breathe, EXIST. I know that!!! I mean anyone with a brain knows that kids do this. I know that I’m huge, look tired, look sick, will have a hard time sleeping, will be in tons of pain during labor, and no, I don’t know if I want an epidural or not. Stop telling me that I do or don’t need one! I realize that labor is different for everyone. I realize that pregnancy is different for everyone. Why can’t everyone else?

I think my “favorite” unwanted advice is “sleep now, you can kiss that goodbye once the baby comes.” People fail to realize that I already DON’T sleep–especially during a manic episode. I’ve been running on next to no sleep for years! Even when I tell them I have a hard time sleeping more than three hours at a time anyway, they feel the need to tell me how different it is when the kid is waking you up. They also think that my husband won’t be helping with the baby for some reason. I don’t understand that. Just because YOUR husband was a douchenozzle and didn’t help you care for your infant, does not mean that my husband will be the same way. It is already obvious that my husband is going to be very caring and helpful, especially since he has been known to roll out of bed at 4:00 AM after going to sleep at 3:00 just to help his very pregnant wife out of the bed so she can pee!

People also get very offended when they ask me how I’m feeling and I reply with the truth. I FEEL HORRIBLE. PREGNANCY IS THE WORST. I mean, what do they want me to say? That I feel amazing and I want to be pregnant for the rest of my LIFE? No. I feel like shit. Pregnancy is not pleasant at all for me. I can’t wait until the baby is here. No, I’m not joking.

Everyone has their own opinions about raising a child. I have not been fully open with my plans for parenting because everyone is right and if you don’t do it their way, you are wrong. This is my plan: Breastfeeding and pumping, but supplementing with formula as needed. For example, if my husband needs to feed the baby, but he needs to have something quick, he will use some room temp water and formula powder. I’m sure people are like FORMULA IS POISON and then others are like BREASTFEEDING IS HORRIBLE. IT MAKES DUMB BABIES (seriously, I’ve heard that.) Who cares! As long as the baby is getting fed, I see zero issue with what I plan to do. Room sharing with a bassinet beside the bed for the first few months and the crib in the room as well for those later infant months. There is nothing wrong with this either. Some people say that having a kid in the room ruins intimacy with couples. I don’t see how it would. If anything, I’m sure I will feel more in love with my husband and want him even more especially knowing what can come of it. Early potty training. I feel that once my child starts walking, and can start to understand and verbally dictate when she is wet/poopy, she can be potty trained. Vaccinations will be given. For some reason, this is a HUGE argument between people. If you don’t want to vaccinate your kid, don’t. Just don’t tell me I am harming my child by doing so. My child will be fine. I was fine. My friend’s kid is fine. That kid over there is fine. No that child with the mental disability did not get it from the vaccine, he was born that way. There are other things that I plan on doing as well and some things that I don’t plan on doing for my own personal reasons. I don’t bash people because they do things differently. I praise them for marching to the beat of their own drummer.

Well, this definitely turned out to be longer than I anticipated haha! Here is the tl;dr version:

One month until my due date!

I’m 1cm dilated and my cervix is thinning out!

I’m miserable!

Your pregnancy advice is unwanted unless I ask for it!

I already don’t sleep, so stop telling me that I won’t after the baby comes!